On Jan. 20, Upper Keys residents and sheriff’s deputies met at Friendship Park for a little community service. Held on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the inaugural event in the Upper Keys was organized by Monroe County school board member Sue Woltanski.
“I was talking with a group of friends and thought ‘It’s supposed to be a day of service, so let’s do a day of service,’” Woltanski said to a group of local residents at Key Largo’s Friendship Park on Jan. 20.
Observed each year on the third Monday in January, Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a federal holiday designated as a national day of service to encourage all Americans to volunteer to honor the life and legacy of King and improve their communities. The morning began with the ribbon-cutting for a new community library next to the park. A debris cleanup along U.S. 1 followed, and a food drive was underway to support St. Justin’s pantry.
To honor the life and work of Martin Luther King Jr., a community of local residents and sheriff’s deputies met at Friendship Park in Key Largo for a day of service on Jan. 20. Organized by Monroe County school board member Sue Woltanski, the day included a community library ribbon-cutting ceremony and a cleanup along U.S. 1. Nonperishable food items were also gathered to support St. Justin’s Food Pantry in Key Largo. JIM McCARTHY/Keys Weekly
Woltanski said she enlisted the help of Key Largo resident Priscilla Johnson, who came up with the idea of a little community library as part of the day of service. Johnson said her older siblings and parents experienced segregation.
“Dr. King did so much to bring us together in such a positive way, and it’s something we should always remember and celebrate not just with cookouts and parties, but in a way that’s impactful,” Johnson said. “With this library, it promotes a love for self and a love for reading books.”
The little library was constructed by Woltanski’s husband, Tom. With Johnson’s daughter, Janee, cutting the ribbon, local residents began to fill the little library with books they brought and more brought by Christina Teasley, Key Largo library branch manager.
